APAH Unit 29 Late 20th Century VOCAB

Action painting

artist pours, drips, dribbled or splattered pigment; applied in an unorthodox manner that involve the artist’s body

Curtain-wall architecture

an exterior wall in architecture that is non-structural and purely decorative

Entropy

decline into disorder; the inevitable disintegration of all objects in nature

Happening

an act of performance art that is initially planned but involves spontaneity, improvisation and often audience participation

“Less is a bore”

coined by Robert Venturi in reaction to Mies van der Rohe’s statement “less is more”; captured Venturi’s aesthetic – that architecture should be inspired by buildings of the past and pair elements together in new ways

“Less is more”

coined by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; captured his architectural aesthetic – that architecture should be simple, sleek, modern, minimalist

Modernism

a style of architecture that emerged in the early 20th century but became very popular after

WWII

promotes architecture that is simple, sleek, minimal, proportional, geometric; this encapsulated modernity

Modular

Composed of smaller standardized units or elements that are repeated without alteration

Performance art

Works in which movements, gestures, and sounds replace physical objects. Documentary photographs are generally the only evidence remaining after these events.

Silk screen

mesh cloth is stretched over a heavy wooden frame; the design (painted on the mesh or as a stencil) is transferred to the canvas by having a squeegee force color through the pores of the material

Soak-stain

artist pours paint onto canvas and avoids brushwork; manipulates the movement of paint using gravity or other means

Venice Biennale

a major show of contemporary art that takes place every other year in various venues throughout the city of Venice; begun in 1895